“Do you smell that?”
“Smell what?”
“Magic,” the boy said, eyes twinkling.
She snorted. “No such thing.”
The boy’s eyes went wide with shock. “You don’t really mean
that?”
The girl shrugs. “I haven’t seen magic since I was ten.”
The boy looked at her. At her once
bright eyes now hollow with despair. She had been like this for a while now. He
said, “Maybe you just don’t know where to look.”
Hope
mingled with doubt in her gaze. Her eyes begged him for what she could not
bring her self to ask. Show me, they
pleaded.
It began to
rain.
The boy kicked off his shoes and
socks. He bent down, ignoring her scowl, and pulled off her flip-flops. He took
her hand and pulled her out into the rain soaked world.
Her hand was limp in his own as he
pulled her from puddle to puddle, stomping, jumping, and splashing with abandon.
He painted their faces with mud, and they roared like wild animals. In between
downpours he led her beneath trees, leaping up to shake the branches. Droplets
poured onto their heads creating their very own miniature rainstorm. He danced
for her, the robot, the dougie, the running man, until she laughed out loud.
He took both of her hands in his and
spun her around. “Do you smell it?” He shouted. “Do you see it?”
The girl tilted her head back, eyes
closed, wet hair flying, as he spun her faster. His wet, mud slicked fingers
twined in hers, his grip sure and strong. Mud squished between her toes, ran
down her face, mingling with her tears and the rain. She breathed the scent of
damp earth, refreshing and crisp. It fused with the scent of the boy’s skin,
the lingering aroma of her shampoo, the cinnamon and coffee from the bakery
down the street…and something else, something new, and unnamable.
She opened her eyes and saw his
smile, heard the bark of his laugh, and the surprised sparkle of her own. And
it was there, if only for a moment. Her hands tightened around his.
“I see it,” she cried, triumphant.
“I see it.”
“Sometimes beauty and real life magic are enough.” ~Stephanie Perkins (Lola and the Boy Next Door)
